Connecting

February 24, 2017
  
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Nick Ut to retire in March
 after 51-year AP career

Colleagues,
 
Good Friday morning!

Nick Ut (Email) told friends and colleagues Thursday that he plans to retire from The Associated Press in late March.

With 51 years of service, the Los Angeles-based photographer is the senior employee of the AP. He is best known for the photo of 9-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc running toward the camera from a South Vietnamese napalm attack on North Vietnamese troops at the Trảng Bàng village during the Vietnam War. The photo won the Pulitzer Prize.

Nick's farewell to his friends and colleagues leads off today's issue. Nick's biography can be found on the Famous Photographer's web site.
 
Speaking of photos, Thursday was the 70th anniversary of what many consider the greatest news photo in history.
 
David Hume Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, wrote in his blog about the history of what he calls "The Shot" - the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima that was taken by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal But Joe took more great photos that Kennerly shares in his blog.
 
And further on photos, Bob Daugherty wrote: "In a word, WOW! The two picture stories featured in Thursday's Connection are absolutely awesome. AP photographers Felipe Dana and Muhammed Muheisen obviously delivered complete packages."
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Paul
 
Nick Ut: Forever thankful to Horst Faas 
for hiring him into AP's Saigon bureau


By NICK UT   

Dear friends,

I would like to take a moment to inform you that I will retire from the Associated Press at the end of March 2017 after 51 years with the company.
 
It was a very hard decision to make because everyone at the Associated Press have always been and will continue to be part of my family but there comes a time when one has to say goodbye.
 
My first editor and the person who hired me, who saved my life and gave me a career as a photojournalist was Horst Faas and I will forever be thankful to him.
 
I remember coming into his office as a young boy and asking for a job after my older brother, who also worked for the AP, was killed in action while photographing the horrors of the Vietnam War.
 
When Horst told me to go home, I told him that the AP was now my home and as they say, the rest is history. Horst also made it possible for me to get my Pulitzer Prize for the Napalm Girl photo. It was at his insistence that the image WAS published, showing the horrors of war to the world.
 
I also have to thank former AP photo director Hal Buell because he was so convinced the image was so unique and told the story of the devastating war, he allowed the photo to be sent all over the world. It was such an impacting image that President Nixon did not like the photo because it showed what war did to the innocent. That image not only changed my life but also changed Kim Phuc's life forever. Kim has been an advocate for peace ever since just as I have.
 
Kim Phuc and Nick Ut in California in 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

And I can't ever forget a wonderful person, colleague and my best friend Eddie Adams. We had an amazing friendship and I'm truly thankful for that and I always remember him fondly.
 
I've had a long and amazing career, entirely at the AP, and this job has allowed me to live in many countries and to travel throughout the entire world. I've met many wonderful people all over the world and I am thankful for all your friendships throughout these 51 years. Having a job and working for so many years would not have been the same without all of you. Each one of you has given me joy and happiness and I hope that I have also done the same for you.

Wherever life has taken me, there has always been someone there to share their home, their food and their friendship with me. I am truly blessed to know every one of you and I appreciate your friendship.
 
I am retiring from the AP but I am not retiring from photography. Don't expect to find me relaxing on a hammock, drinking tea on a beach somewhere. I will continue to be out in the field, doing what I have always loved to do. See you all soon! 


Iwo Jima Photo Taken 70 Years Ago Thursday
   
By DAVID HUME KENNERLY
 
Today (Thursday) is the 70th anniversary of "The Shot."
 
We all know that picture, the one in which, with the click of a shutter, Joe Rosenthal composed the Gettysburg Address of photography. His magnificent moment of U.S. Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the flag on Iwo Jima stands above all others to hang forever in our hearts.
 
But many other pictures Joe took during the fighting in Europe and through five Pacific campaigns will hold up over time as well.
 
Like the men he covered, Joe put his life on the line. He said that during his first landing on Iwo Jima the enemy fire was so intense that "not getting hit was like running through rain and not getting wet."
 
Joe kept sprinting back to the action, to the danger, even though as a civilian combat cameraman he didn't have to. It's hard to comprehend that someone who had hit beaches under fire and witnessed its toll would return to that hell time after time. But, like most men of his era, Joe believed that heroism was no big deal, merely business as usual-and he knew his business. When he could he got names to go with faces, because that sold papers.
 

Joe Rosenthal's combat photos consistently show a master at work. He may have had to lug around a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic (and working with one sheet of film at a time meant no "safety" shots), but he got it done. His photographs show the action, the quiet moments, the detritus of death-the disparate elements that comprise the tableau of war.
 
On Peleliu Joe saw Marines passing comrades covered by impromptu shrouds. Each looks down at the stretchers, as if wondering whether he knew either man. The image seems to illustrate an acceptance that this is how things were, and how the next day they could be lying there.
 
Joe Rosenthal taught me that some of the best photos happen not while battles rage but at their periphery-advice that stayed with me to great effect as I was photographing the Vietnam War. One of Joe's strongest images, of a Marine chaplain and congregants at Mass, illuminates the humanity and spirituality of combat-weary men.
 
A photo he took on a troop transport of men boxing is a classic of a different sort: soldiers crowd around to watch compatriots beat each other up-a metaphor for the battles they're all heading toward.
 
Joe had a career after the war, and took plenty of superb photographs. But overshadowing everything he did is that iconic frame freezing forever the gallantry and bravery of a few good men on a hill oh so far away. Their faces are obscured; the focal point is the act, not the personalities-these days a rare phenomenon.
 
This image will ring through the ages alongside the work of Mozart and Rembrandt and Hemingway. Joe captured the heart and soul of what it means to be a Marine in a picture embodying the essence of Americans. His photo is the symbol of freedom, and the man who took it, a son of immigrants, represents us all.
 

Joe was a modest guy. Until his death on August 20, 2006, the most prized possession in his spare San Francisco apartment was not, as you might imagine, a print of his greatest photograph. Instead, on the wall above his favorite chair hung a certificate:
 
"The Commandant of the Marine Corps
Takes pleasure in presenting the title
 
'Honorary Marine'
 
To Joe Rosenthal
'For unyielding devotion to Country and Corps'
12 April 1996
 
[signed] C.C. Krulak
General, US Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps"
 
Joe Rosenthal. Honorary Marine. Great photographer. We who knew him will remember that modest, wonderful and beautiful friend. He will never be forgotten.
 
(This from a piece I wrote for WWII Magazine about Joe in 2012)
 
View this blog and more photos here.  Shared by George Arfield.
 
Connecting wishes Happy Birthday
 
to
 
Phil Dopoulos - pdopoulos@gmail.com
 
And on Saturday to...
 
Julie March - jmarch@ap.org
 
Diane Balk Palguta - dbpalguta@yahoo.com
 
Susan Brady Boyle - sbrady@ap.org
 
 
Stories of interest
 
Steve Bannon's not-so-subtle threat to the media   (Washington Post)
 
By CHRIS CILLIZZA
 
It's no secret that Stephen K. Bannon, the past chairman of Breitbart News and now a senior strategist to the president, is behind much of Trump's anti-media rhetoric. The idea of the media as the "opposition party" or the "enemy" - two phrases Trump has used of late to describe those who cover him - is pure Bannon.
 
So, there was no reason to think that Bannon was going to be anything but confrontational with the media during a joint appearance with Trump White House chief of staff Reince Priebus at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday afternoon.
 
But, even by Bannon's standards, he seemed to ramp up his attacks on the media and offer a very clear message to political journalists: You think this is bad? Just wait.
 
Read more here. Shared by Len Iwanski.
 
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Newsonomics: Softbank, Fortress, Trump - and the real story of Gatehouse's boundless ambition  (Nieman)
 
By KEN DOCTOR
 
Sometimes when you connect the dots, you just get more dots.
 
It looked like head-turning news: A Japanese company had taken control of one of America's largest newspaper chains, New Media Investment Group, a.k.a. GateHouse Media. Tuesday's headline: "Robotics and tech firm SoftBank Japan purchases newspaper company GateHouse Media". As Softbank's acquisition of New York City-based Fortress Investment Group was announced last week, it appeared, on the surface, as if the direction of more than 100 U.S. dailies would be in the hands of non-Americans.
 
Plus, as feels universally true in these bewildering times, there appeared to even be a link to Donald Trump. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son had been one of the first chief executives to make the trek to Trump Tower in December, to pay fealty to the incoming president. His supposed promise, accompanied by the firm Trump hand on Son's shoulder: $50 billion in U.S. investment, aiming to create 50,000 jobs. saying "The U.S. will become great again," Son offered.
 
Read more here.
 
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What Facebook Owes to Journalism   (New York Times)
 
By STEVEN WALDMAN
 
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's manifesto about community, released last week on Facebook, wisely analyzed the state of journalism: He decried sensationalism, and declared that "a strong news industry is also critical to building an informed community." Giving people a voice, he said, "is not enough without having people dedicated to uncovering new information and analyzing it." He even noted that "reading local news is directly correlated with local civic engagement."
 
Unfortunately, his memo ignored two major points - the role that Facebook and other technology platforms are playing in inadvertently damaging local news media, and the one way they could actually save journalism: with a massive philanthropic commitment.
 
Local news is weak in large part because the business models have collapsed. The main reason: As advertising spending shifted from print, TV and radio to the internet, the money didn't mostly go to digital news organizations. Increasingly, it goes to Facebook and Google.
 
Read more here. Shared by Doug Pizac.
 
The Final Word
 
Oh God, No more please!
 

John Brewer share on Facebook,
 
Today in History - February 24, 2017
 

By The Associated Press 
 
Today is Friday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2017. There are 310 days left in the year.
 
Today's Highlight in History:
 
On Feb. 24, 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine during World War II, sank in the Black Sea off Turkey after it was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine; all but one of the refugees on board perished.
 
On this date:
 
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.)
 
In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.
 
In 1912, the American Jewish women's organization Hadassah was founded in New York City.
 
In 1920, the German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.
 
In 1938, the first nylon bristle toothbrush, manufactured by DuPont under the name "Dr. West's Miracle Toothbrush," went on sale.
 
In 1955, the Cole Porter musical "Silk Stockings" opened at the Imperial Theater on Broadway.
 
In 1966, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, was overthrown in a military coup while he was visiting Beijing; he was replaced by Joseph Arthur Ankrah.
 
In 1975, the Congressional Budget Office, charged with providing independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues, began operating under its first director, Alice Rivlin.
 
In 1983, a congressional commission released a report condemning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as a "grave injustice."
 
In 1987, Fawn Hall, former personal secretary to fired National Security Council aide Oliver L. North, posed for news photographers outside her attorney's office, calling the attention "a little overwhelming."
 
In 1992, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain married Hole lead vocalist Courtney Love in Hawaii.
 
In 1996, Cuba downed two small American planes operated by the group Brothers to the Rescue that it claimed were violating Cuban airspace; all four pilots were killed.
 
Ten years ago: A suicide truck bomber struck worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque in Habbaniyah, 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing at least 52 people. The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. Denver Broncos running back Damien Nash, 24, collapsed and died after hosting a charity basketball game in suburban St. Louis.
 
Five years ago: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Tunisia for a conference on Syria, called Russia and China "despicable" for opposing U.N. action aimed at stopping the bloodshed caused by the Damascus regime's crackdown on an anti-government uprising. Jan Berenstain, 88, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books, died in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.
 
One year ago: The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Dr. Robert Califf to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. President Barack Obama nominated Carla Hayden, longtime head of Baltimore's library system, to be the 14th Librarian of Congress; Hayden became the first woman and the first African-American to hold the position. An Indianapolis man was convicted of murder, arson and insurance fraud for his role in a 2012 house explosion that killed two neighbors and devastated a subdivision. (Bob Leonard was sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without parole, plus 70 years.) Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic performed the nation's first uterus transplant on a 26-year-old woman, using an organ from a deceased donor (however, the transplant failed).
 
Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Dominic Chianese (kee-uh-NAY'-see) is 86. Movie composer Michel Legrand is 85. Opera singer-director Renata Scotto is 83. Singer Joanie Sommers is 76. Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is 75. Actor Barry Bostwick is 72. Actor Edward James Olmos is 70. Singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes is 70. Rock singer-musician George Thorogood is 67. Actress Debra Jo Rupp is 66. Actress Helen Shaver is 66. News anchor Paula Zahn is 61. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 61. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 59. Actor Mark Moses is 59. Actress Beth Broderick is 58. Singer Michelle Shocked is 55. Movie director Todd Field is 53. Actor Billy Zane is 51. Actress Bonnie Somerville is 43. Jazz musician Jimmy Greene is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brandon Brown (Mista) is 34. Rock musician Matt McGinley (Gym Class Heroes) is 34. Actor Wilson Bethel is 33. Actor Alexander Koch is 29. Rapper-actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. is 26.
 
Thought for Today: "Be kind to unkind people - they need it the most." - Ashleigh Brilliant, English-born American writer.


Got a story to share?

 
Got a story to share? A favorite memory of your AP days? Don't keep them to yourself. Share with your colleagues by sending to Ye Olde Connecting Editor. And don't forget to include photos!


Here are some suggestions:
 
- Spousal support -  How your spouse helped in supporting your work during your AP career. 
- My most unusual story -  tell us about an unusual, off the wall story that you covered.
- "A silly mistake that you make"-  a chance to 'fess up with a memorable mistake in your journalistic career.
- Multigenerational AP families  - profiles of families whose service spanned two or more generations.
- Volunteering  - benefit your colleagues by sharing volunteer stories - with ideas on such work they can do themselves.
- First job  - How did you get your first job in journalism?
- Connecting "selfies"  - a word and photo self-profile of you and your career, and what you are doing today. Both for new members and those who have been with us a while.
Life after AP for those of you who have moved on to another job or profession.
Most unusual place a story assignment took you.

Paul Stevens
Editor,  Connecting newsletter
paulstevens46@gmail.com